| Chelmsley Wood | |
|---|---|
| Town | |
 TheRoyal Mail building in the town centre | |
  Chelmsley Wood Location within theWest Midlands | |
| Population | 12,453 (2011) |
| OS grid reference | SP1886 |
| Civil parish |
|
| Metropolitan borough | |
| Shire county | |
| Metropolitan county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | BIRMINGHAM |
| Postcode district | B37 |
| Dialling code | 0121 |
| Police | West Midlands |
| Fire | West Midlands |
| Ambulance | West Midlands |
| UK Parliament | |
| |
Chelmsley Wood, sometimes called justChelmsley, is a town[1] andcivil parish in theMetropolitan Borough of Solihull,West Midlands, England, with a population of 12,453.[2][3] It is located nearBirmingham Airport and theNational Exhibition Centre. It lies about eight miles east ofBirmingham and 5 miles to the north ofSolihull. The town is also close to bothColeshill andWater Orton inWarwickshire, the county the area was historically part of.
In 1966Birmingham City Council compulsorily purchased the ancient woodland and built the 15,590 dwelling council estate to rehouse families on its council house waiting list. With the rise in unemployment in the 1970s parts of the estate suffered from deprivation andanti-social behaviour. The area established a town council.
Local government re-organisation in 1974 transferred the town toSolihull Metropolitan Borough, though responsibility for the housing remained with Birmingham until September 1980.[3]
Chelmsley Wood was built byBirmingham City Council in the late 1960s and early 70s on ancient woodland, once part of theForest of Arden, as an overspill town forBirmingham. Permission for the construction of theoverspill estate ongreen belt land was granted byRichard Crossman asMinister of Housing and Local Government.[4] A shopping centre (which opened on 7 April 1970), a library (completed in 1970 at £240,000),[5] hall and belatedly a few public houses. With the adjoining neighbourhoods ofFordbridge andSmith's Wood it became part ofMetropolitan Borough of Solihull in 1974.
By the end of the Second World War 12,391 homes had been destroyed byaerial bombing in Birmingham and there was to be no house building in the city for six years[6] so the programme ofslum clearance had been halted. By the 1950s there were terrific demand for homes. Large estates were built within the city boundaries such asDruid's Heath,Castle Vale and atBromford on the site of the city's former racecourse, but by 1963 there was no further land available within the city boundaries.
The city council had powers under theHousing of the Working Classes Act 1900 to purchase landout-of- area. On 21 December 1964,Richard Crossman the new minister for housing sent a letter to Sir Frank Price, leader of Birmingham City Council proposing the scheme.[7] The population was increasing and it was estimated that there would be a deficiency of 43,000 dwellings by 1971, which would have been worse than it had been in 1959. At a meeting of the House Building Committee in February 1965, it was decided to build a large new development to the east of the city. Objections were raised about the scheme, particularly fromMeriden Rural District Council and the local Parish Councils in the nearby villages of Kingshurst and Hampton-in-Arden,[6] on grounds of amenity and the threat to the green belt separating Birmingham andCoventry. A similar application for the use of nearly 300 acres atWythall to the south of Birmingham was considered, but this was turned down. Permission was granted.[6]
Land was compulsorily purchased and construction of the 15,590 dwellings was begun in 1965 and completed in 1970. Although the area became part of Solihull in 1974, Birmingham City Council retained control of their houses until they were officially transferred to Solihull MBC on 29 September 1980.[6] Construction started in 1965 and the first rates were levied on houses in Oak Croft on 6 March 1967. Such was the scale of the operation that a development company was to design finance and build a complete town centre which was officially opened byQueen Elizabeth II on 7 April 1972.[8]
The "Wood" was to be 80% public housing and 18% privately developed homes, houses were reserved for 100 policemen and rows of terraced homes were let out or sold at a reduced rate to key workers: nurses, social workers and teachers working on the estate.[9] The "Wood" had considerable thought put into its planning and won architectural awards for its landscaping.[7] It was provided with schools, a library and shopping areas, but in the early days there was no localpub, the nearest one being reached by a five-mile bus journey.[10]The "unity and harmony"[6] of the design made it appear monotonous rather than modern.
The name "Chelmsley" is of considerable antiquity. It indicates a settlement of Saxon origin – the enclosure of Ceolmund. Ceolmund Crescent is the name of the road that passes by the police station, and the Post Office Tower in the town centre.[11][6] The word "Ceolmund" itself comes from theOld English Ceol "Keel" (of a ship) and Mund "Protection".[12]
There were the 15,590 dwellings (including 39 multi-storey blocks of flats). There were 70 shop units and 6 major stores, as well as a 4-storey office block and 2 pubs. The 221 dwellings in the town centre included 14 maisonettes over shops.[6] It was laid out in aRadburn style with houses opening out onto pedestrian pathways and open green space, and backing onto the vehicular access.[6] To enhance the openness, there were no fences between gardens and public space.
With the 6 adjoining estates, which over half a century have merged, there were 51 tower blocks until the late 1990s, in the complex. As of 2015 there are approximately 42 tower blocks left across the estates.
National Express West Midlands operate a number of buses in and around the Chelmsley Wood area. Chelmsley Wood shopping centre has a bus interchange which hosts buses that go to and from Birmingham city centre, Solihull town centre,Coleshill, Warwickshire,Sutton Coldfield andBirmingham Airport. In Summer 2017, National Express West Midlands extensively rerouted and retimed all of their bus routes that run to/from Chelmsley Wood.
The closest railway station is atMarston Green which is about a mile (1.75 km) from Chelmsley Wood Shopping Centre. From there, there are trains toCoventry, Birmingham Airport, Birmingham City Centre and TheNational Exhibition Centre.
North Solihull Sports Centre is the largest and most used sports centre in Chelmsley Wood and its surrounding areas. It hosts two swimming pools, a sports hall, a fitness suite, studio, crèche and café bar. It also hosts an outdoor running track, and anastroturf pitch.[13]
Chelmsley Wood is represented inassociation football byChelmsley Town, who currently compete in theMidland League Division One and play at Pack Meadow in nearbyColeshill.[14]
The town had for decades had a negative reputation due to being associated with anti-social behaviour and crime,[15] although the town has been relatively successful compared to other similar estates across England.
The town is currently undergoing the biggest redevelopment project in its history.[16]
Politically, Chelmsley Wood is represented by three councillors on Solihull Council. Voters had historically been known for their strong support of Labour candidates at both local and national elections. However, in the2006 election, the Chelmsley Wood ward elected a candidate from theBritish National Party, the first in Solihull's history. The elected candidate won by a margin of 19 votes. In the2010 election the seat went back to Labour after George Morgan stood down with the BNP vote falling dramatically and theGreen Party finishing second to Labour by 22 votes.[17]
Since 2011, Chelmsley Wood residents have elected Green Party councillors to serve them at every election, voting in Karl Macnaughton (2011), Chris Williams (2012) and James Burn (2014). Karl Macnaughton was re-elected in the 2015 elections with over 68% of the vote, and Chris Williams in 2016 with 75%.[citation needed]
